Last weekend, I attended the balloon festival in Albuquerque for the first time. I’ve lived in New Mexico for more than 20 years and I have never been able to go. It was well worth it, even with my friends and I getting charged double for entrance, because we got a little confused about how […]

American Forces Press Service TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Air Force Rescue Coordination Center personnel here responded to calls for assistance when a hot air balloon, believed to be ‘piloted’ by a 6-year-old boy, broke free from its tethers and flew haphazardly through the skies near Denver Oct. 15 At approximately 1:25 p.m. Central […]

By Celena Cordova, PNT Staff Writer Eastern New Mexico University wants fiesta-goers to see its message about tuition costs is powered by hot air, not full of it. “Avoid Soaring Tuition” was chosen as the slogan for the university’s hot air balloon at the 2008 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Fiesta goers will have the opportunity […]

By Karl Terry, PNT Managing Editor The Democratic National Convention may have a bigger balloon drop later this week but it’s doubtful they’ll be having any more fun than the young people who participated in the 20th annual Roosevelt County Livestock Sale Saturday. The sale marked a milestone complete with a balloon drop and party […]

By Chelle Delaney: Freedom Newspapers A NASA weather balloon the size of a skyscraper crashed Wednesday about 18 miles northeast of San Jon. Launched from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility in Fort Sumner, the nearly 500-foot-tall balloon made a whistling sound as it moved swiftly through the air and landed with a thump about a […]

By Richard Bradfute: Guest columnist After 15 years in what doctors call a “persistent vegetative state,” Terri Schiavo had her feeding tube removed recently, essentially inflicting her death by dehydration (or starvation) because she lacks the ability to drink and/or eat for herself. I have an experience with one such as Schiavo. I went to […]

Darrell Todd Maurina FORT SUMNER — The city is best known for Billy the Kid’s grave and historical memorabilia of the Wild West. But north of town, several miles down a two-lane road that passes fields with grazing goats and cows, stands the old Fort Sumner Army Air Field. While some buildings show their age […]

Janet Bresenham When it comes to hot air ballooning, it’s all about the wind. How fast it’s blowing on the ground. How much speed it gathers climbing to higher altitudes. How fast it could carry a balloon. How much balloon enthusiasts wish it would calm down long enough to lift aloft and assure a safe […]

Janet Bresenham When 31 hot air balloons get ready to launch from Clovis on Saturday morning, John Sando hopes he will be aboard a special one named “The Desert Dancer.” “That would be awesome,” the Clovis teen said. “I’m like a military brat, so I’ve flown in a lot of things, but not a hot […]

Daniel Hackett and Jill Chandler of Portales will make themselves part of Clovis’ Pioneer Days in a special way Sunday — they plan to get married during one of the balloon launches scheduled for the celebration. Hackett, a graphic designer at the Portales News-Tribune, said he and his fiancee will exchange vows at 6 a.m. […]